[In relation to Time Ordering being important + useful and XML's ability
to capture it]
Another good example that supports Sean's assertion is in medical care.
Clinical practice guidelines (ie---treatment protocols) almost always have
a time _and_ sequence based aspect which is expressed implicitly or
explicitly in the clinical narrative. Being able to model this in XML could
protentially allow "engines" that could make sure things get done in the
proper order and time. This is extremely hard to accomplish currently using
only RDMS technology alone or programmatically because the observations of
the health care providers seldom fit the nice cubby holes needed for the
program. Sorry for the poor description but I am behind in my Holiday gift
shopping.
John Spinosa
john@spinosa.com
Sean Mc Grath
sean@digitome.com
Digitome Electronic Publishing
http://www.digitome.com